Sauro Words: Dinosaurs “Taphrosaurus” to “Zizhongosaurus”
Groups "T-Z"
A Greek element that is used in various forms to create hundreds of words that mean “lizard”: sauro-, saur-, -saurus, -saurid, -saur, -sauria, -saurian. Some authorities use sauro-, -saurus, et al. as a reference to a “serpent” or a “reptile”; but it is used especially with reference to “dinosaurs”.
Most of the information about dinosaurs in the following list were gleaned from the publications indicated below.
A Field Guide to Dinosaurs, edited by Ruth Midgley, Elizabeth Pring, and Brian Hewson; published by Avon Books, 1983, New York.
Jeff Poling’s
Dinosauria On-Line,
Omnipedia section at
Taphrosaurus:
A “pit (vertebra) lizard” from Late Cretaceous North America. Its name comes from Greek taphros, “pit, trench” and refers to the vertebrae.
Tarascosaurus:
A “Tarascan (Tarasque) lizard” from Late Cretaceous southern France. Named for the Tarasque, a legendary dragon-like monster from the Provence region, that once terrorized the town of Tarascon, France. Named by French paleontologists Jean Le Loeuff and Erik Buffetaut in 1991.
Tarbosaurus:
An “alarming (terrible, dreadful) lizard” from Late Cretaceous Mongolia. It is considered to be an invalid name for Tyrannosaurus bataar. Named by Yevgenii (or Evgeny) Alexandrovich Maleev (or Yevgenii Aleksandrovich Maleyev) in 1955.
Tatisaurus:
“Ta-Ti lizard” from Late Triassic (or perhaps Early Jurassic) Tati, Yunnan Province, southern China. Named by D. J. Simmons in 1965.
Taveirosaurus:
“Taveiro lizard” from Late Cretaceous Portugal. Named for Taveiro, a village in Portugal, near where the fossil was discovered. Named by Telles-Antunes and Denise Sigogneau-Russell in 1991.
Tawasaurus:
“?? lizard” from ??. Named by Chinese paleontologist Yang Zhong-jian (also known as Chung Chien Young) in 1982.
Technosaurus:
A “[Texas] Tech [University] lizard” from Late Triassic Texas. Its name is a reference to Texas Tech University, Lubbok, Texas, which sponsored the dig. Named by Indian paleontologist Sankar Chatterjee in 1984.
Teinurosaurus:
A “stretched-tail lizard” from Late Jurassic Europe. Named by Franz Baron Nopcsa in 1928 emended in 1929.
Teleosaurus:
A “completed lizard” from Early Jurassic Europe.
Telmatosaurus:
A “marsh (swamp) lizard” from Late Cretaceous Hungary, the Pyrenees, and southern France. This creature was formerly known as Hecatasaurus and Limnosaurus. It was described by the Hungarian spy, Franz Baron Nopcsa in 1903.
Temnodontosaurus:
A late Ichthyosaur, an extinct marine reptile, not a dinosaur. From Late Jurassic Europe (Germany and England).
Tenchisaurus:
“Tenchin lizard” from Jurassic Tenchin Gomba, Szechuan, China.
Tenontosaurus:
A “sinew (tendon) lizard” from Early Cretaceous Montana, Oklahoma, Texas, and Arizona (USA). Named by U. S. paleontologists John H. Ostrom and Grant E. Meyer in 1970.
Termatosaurus:
A “end lizard” from Late Triassic Europe. Named by T. Plieninger in 1844.
Teratosaurids, Teratosauridae:
A “monster lizard” from Late Triassic Age and most were found in West European rocks.
Teratosaurus:
A “monster lizard” from Late Triassic Europe (Germany). Named by naturalist Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer in 1961. It is not considered a dinosaur. When it was first discovered by British anatomist Sir Richard Owen in 1841, it was thought to be a dinosaur.
Tetragonosaurus:
This nomenclature (“square (head) lizard”) is no longer recognized by scientists because they found that it described an animal that was previously given another name which is Lambeosaurus. Named by William Arthur Parks in 1931.
Thalassiosaurus:
A “marine lizard” from Late Cretaceous North America. Its name comes from Greek thalassios, “belonging to the sea”. Named by U. S. paleontologist Samuel Paul Welles in 1943.
Thalassonomosaurus:
A “sea-living lizard” from Late Cretaceous North America. Named by U. S. paleontologist Samuel Paul Welles in 1943.
Thaumatosaurus:
A “wonder lizard” from Early Jurassic Europe. Named by naturalist Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer in 1841.
Thecodontosaurus:
A “socket-toothed lizard” from Late Triassic west-central England (near Bristol), and maybe South Africa and northeast Australia. This creature was formerly known as Hortalotarsus. Named by S. H. Riley and Samuel Stutchbury in 1836.
Therizinosaurids:
A “scythe (reaping) lizard” from Late Cretaceous eastern Central Asia.
Therizinosaurus cheloniformis:
A “scythe (reaping) lizard” from Late Cretaceous Nemegt Basin, southern Mongolia. Named by Russian paleontologist Yevgenii (or Evgeny) Alexandrovich Maleev (or Yevgenii Aleksandrovich Maleyev) in 1954.
Therosaurus:
An invalid name for Iguanodon, a plant-eating dinosaur with thumb spikes. It is said to have lived during the Early Cretaceous period.
Thescelosaurids:
Among the last of the dinosaurs, thescelosaurids (“wonderful lizards”) come from the topmost Mesozoic rock layer in North America.
Thescelosaurus:
A “wonderful (marvelous) lizard” from Late Cretaceous western North America (Alberta, Saskatchewan [Canada]; Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming [USA]). Named by U. S. paleontologist Charles Whitney Gilmore in 1913.
Thotobolosauurus:
“Thotobolo lizard” from early Late Triassic Lesotho, southern Africa. Named by Paul Ellenberger in 1972.
Tianchiasaurus:
“Heavenly Pool lizard” from early Middle Triassic China. A name that refers to Tian Chi, “Heavenly Pool”, a famous lake near where the fossils were found. It was previously named “Jurassosaurus”, in honor of the motion picture “Jurassic Park”. Named by Chinese paleontologist Zhiming Dong in 1993.
Tianzhenosaurus:
“Tianzhen lizard” from Late Cretaceous China. Named in 1998 to indicate an ankylosaurid found in Tianzhen County, in Sichuan Province, China, in the Late Cretaceous Huiquanpu Formation at Kangdailiang near Zhaojiagou Village. Named by Peng Guangzhao and Cheng in 1998.
Tienshanosaurus:
“Tien Shan (Heavenly Mountains) lizard” from Early Cretaceous or Late Cretaceous Tien Shan mountain range in Xinjiang, northwest China. Named by Chinese paleontologist Yang Zhong-jian (also known as: Chung Chien Young) in 1937.
Titanosaurids:
Despite their name “giant (titanic) lizards”, some Titanosaurids were quite small. Unhappily, most are known from very incomplete remains. They are believed to have lived during the Late Cretaceous period. This creature was previously called Magyarosaurus. Named by British paleontologist Richard Lydekker in 1885.
Titanosaurus:
A “titanic lizard” gets its name from the titans, giants of Greek myth and existed from Late Cretaceous Europe, India, Indochina, and Argentina. Named by British paleontologist Richard Lydekker in 1877.
Tochisaurus:
An “ostrich (foot) lizard” from Late Cretaceous Mongolia. Named by Sergei Mikhailovich Kurzanov and Polish paleontologist Halszka Osmólska in 1991.
Torosaurus:
A “perforated (frill) lizard” from Late Cretaceous Montana to Texas, USA; and Canada. The name is based on Greek toreo, “pierce, perforate”, a reference to the posterior crest, which is perforated by a pair of large openings, according to the nomenclator, Othniel Charles Marsh. He explained that the name provides no basis for interpreting Torosaurus as “piercing lizard” for its horns nor as “bulging lizard” from Latin torus, “a bulge”. The non-classical Spanish word toro, “bull” is not the correct derivation of the name. Named by paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh (1831-1899) in 1891.
Torvosaurus:
A “savage lizard” from Late Jurassic period and found in western North America; specifically, Colorado and Wyoming. Named by British paleontologist Peter M. Galton and U. S. paleontologist James A. Jensen in 1979.
Tsintaosaurus:
“Tsintao lizard” from Late Cretaceous Shanong, China. The name comes from Chinese Qingdao, “green” plus dao, “island”. Named by Chinese paleontologist Yang Zhong-jian (also known as: Chung Chien Young) in 1958.
Tuarangisaurus:
“Maori-tuarangi lizard” or “ancient lizard” from Late Cretaceous New Zealand. This fossil was named in reference to a large elasmosaur found in New Zealand (North Island, Manghousnga Stream), home of the Maori people. The Maori tuarangi, means “ancient”. Named by Joan Wiffen and Moisley in 1986.
Tugulusaurus:
“Tugulu lizard” from Early Cretaceous Sinkiang, northwest China. Named by Chinese paleontologist Zhiming Dong in 1973.
Tuojiangosaurus:
“Toujiang (Tuo River) lizard” from Late Jurassic Tuojiang (Tuo Jiang), a river in Sichuan Province, near Zigong City, China. Named by Chinese paleontologists Zhiming Dong, Li K., Shiwu Zhou, and Yihong Zhang in 1977.
Tylosaurus:
A “swollen lizard” from Late Cretaceous Kansas and New Zealand, but it is not considered a dinosaur.
Tyrannosaurids, Tyrannosauridae:
The “tyrant lizards” included some of the biggest flesh-eating land animals of all time. They are believed to have lived during the Late Cretaceous period.
Tyrannosaurus:
A “tyrant (despot) lizard” from Late Cretaceous western North America and China. This fossil has also been called Dynamosaurus, Tarbosaurus, and Manospondylus. Named by U. S. paleontologist Henry Fairfield Osborn in 1905.
Ugrosaurus:
A “ugly lizard” from Scandinavian ugro, “ugly”. A Triceratops. Named by Emily A. Cobabe and David E. Fastovsky in 1987.
Uintasaurus:
This nomenclature (“Uinta lizard” [County in Utah where it was discovered]) is no longer recognized by scientists because they found that it described an animal that was previously given another name which is Camarasaurus. Named by William J. Holland in 1919.
Ultrasauros:
An “ultra (excessive) lizard” from Late Jurassic western Colorado, USA. Discovered in Colorado by dinosaur digger U. S. paleontologist James A. Jensen of Brigham Young University, this extremely large dinosaur was formerly known as Supersaurus. The name was changed to Ultrasauros because it was previously claimed for a South Korean specimen. Named by Korean paleontologist Haang Mook Kim in 1983.
Unquillosaurus:
“Unquillo River lizard” from Late Cretaceous northwest Argentina. The fossil was found in the Candaleria region of Salta Province, Argentina. Named by Jaime Eduardo Powell in 1979.
Valdosaurus:
A “weald (wealden) lizard” from Early Cretaceous southern England and Niger in West Africa. It was named for the Early Cretaceous Wealden deposits in which its fossils were found. Named by British paleontologist Peter M. Galton in 1977.
Varanosaurus:
A “monitor lizard” that was a mammal-like reptile which was not a dinosaur. It lived during the Early Permian in what is now Texas and Oklahoma.
Vectisaurus:
A “bar lizard” from Early Cretaceous Isle of Wight, England. It is also known as, “spike lizard” or “Isle of Wight lizard”. Named by J. W. Hulke in 1879.
Velocisaurus:
A “swift lizard” from Late Cretaceous South America. Named by Argentinian paleontologist José Bonaparte in 1991.
Vjushkovisaurus:
A “Vyushkov’s lizard” from Middle Triassic Russia. It was named in honor of Boris Pavlovich V’yushkov (1926-1958), a Russian vertebrate paleontologust, for a form found in the Donguz River region of the southern Urals region of Russia. Named by Russian paleontologist V. G. Ochev in 1982.
Wannanosaurus:
“Wannan lizard” from Early Cretaceous China. It was named for the Chinese provinnce where its incomplete skeleton was found. Named by Chinese paleontologist Lianhai Hou in 1977.
Woolungasaurus:
“Woolunga lizard” from Early Cretaceous Australia. This fossil was named for the Woolunga, a reptile-like beast in Australian aboriginal mythology. It was found near Glendower Station, Prairie, North Central Queensland, Australia. It was not a dinosaur.
Wuerhosaurus:
A “Wuerho lizard” from Early Cretaceous Wuerho District, Sinkiang, northwest China. Named by the Chinese dinosaurologist and paleontologist Zhiming Dong in 1973.
Xenotarsosaurus:
A “strange-ankle lizard” from Late Cretaceous Argentina. Named by Argentinian paleontologists Rubén Martinez, Olga Giménez, Rodriguez, and Graciela Bochatey in 1986.
Xiaosaurus:
From Middle Jurassic Dashanpu quarry, China; meaning, “small lizard”. Named by Chinese paleontologists Zhiming Dong and Tang Zhilu in 1983.
Xuanhanosaurus:
A “Xuanhan lizard” from Middle Jurassic China. It was named for Xuanhan County, in China, by Chinese paleontologist Zhiming Dong in 1984.
Xuanhuasaurus:
A dinosaur from Early Cretaceous China and named by Chinese paleontologist Zijin Zhao in 1986.
Yaleosaurus:
This nomenclature (“Yale [University] lizard”) is no longer recognized by scientists because they found that it described an animal that was previously given another name which is Anchisaurus. Named by German paleontologist Friedrich von Huene in 1932.
Yandusaurus:
“Yangdu lizard” from Middle Jurassic China. Named for the “Salt Capital” of Sichuan Province in China by Chinese paleontologists Zhiming Dong, Dr. Mee-Mann Chang, Li Jinling, and Shiwu Zhou in 1978.
Yangchuanosaurus:
“Yang-ch’uan lizard” from Late Jurassic China. Named by Chinese paleontologists Zhiming Dong, Dr. Mee-Mann Chang, Li Jinling, and Shiwu Zhou in 1978.
Yandusaurus:
“Yangdu lizard” from Middle Jurassic China. Named for the “Salt Capital” of Sichuan Province in China by Chinese paleontologists Zhiming Dong, Dr. Mee-Mann Chang, Li, and Shiwu Zhou in 1978.
Yimenosaurus:
A “Yimen lizard”, a new genus of prosauropod from Early Jurassic Fengjiahe Formation in Yimen County (Yuxi region) of Yunnan Province [Yunnan Yimen yuanxijiao lei yi xin shu]. Named by Bai Ziqi, Yang Jie, and Wang Guohui in 1990.
Yunnanosaurus:
This nomenclature (“Yunnan Province lizard”) is no longer recognized by scientists because they found that it described an animal that was previously given another name which is Lufengosaurus. Named by Chinese paleontologist Yang Zhong-jian (also known as: Chung Chien Young) in 1942.
Yuzhoupliosaurus:
“Yuzhou-plio lizard” from Middle Jurassic China. Its name comes from Yuzhou a former name for Chongqing (Chungking), a major city on the Chang Jiang (Yangzte) River in Sichuan Province, China.
Zephyrosaurus:
A “west-wind lizard” from Early Cretaceous western USA (Montana). Named by Canadian paleontologist Hans-Dieter Sues in 1980.
Zigongosaurus:
“Zigong lizard” from Late Jurassic Zigong, Szechuan, China. Named by Lianhai Hou, Chao Shichin (or Zhao Xijin?), and Chu in 1976.
Zizhongosaurus:
“Zizhong lizard” from Early Jurassic China. Named for Zizhong County, Sichuan Province, China; by Chinese paleontologists Zhiming Dong, Shiwu Zhou, and Yihong Zhang in 1983.